SBOE Weekly Ed Links: 08-10-2018

By: Paul Negron, Public Affairs Specialist

Here’s our rundown of this week’s top education news and events in the District and around the country!

NATIONAL NEWS
New Teachers Are Often Assigned to High-Poverty Schools. Why Not Train Them There? | EdWeek

This fall, the Denver public schools are piloting a program aimed at training new teachers in the buildings where they are most likely to be assigned: the city’s high-poverty schools. The district is testing the strategy with six new “associate teachers” who will teach part-time and spend the remainder of their day observing master teachers in action and planning their own lessons.

Most Principals Like Their Jobs. Here’s What Makes Them Change Schools or Quit Altogether | EdWeek
Principals love their jobs, but some would ditch their current jobs immediately if a higher-paying gig came along, according to a new survey of the profession. Some 94 percent of principals say they are satisfied at their current schools.

Dual Credit: The Good News and the Bad News | EdWeek
Taking dual-credit courses in high school doesn’t save students much time or money in college, according to a pair of recent studies. Findings from the two research projects, both conducted in Texas, challenge one of the most powerful messages that have fueled a huge increase in the popularity of the courses, which confer college credit while students are still in high school.

Strengthening the social studies teacher workforce in America | Brookings
After a period of heightened political awareness and activity, many Americans are wondering about their country’s civic well-being—and what schools can do to help. While there is evidence of stagnant achievement gaps for civics among U.S. students and different standards and coursework requirements across states, comparatively little is known about the social studies teacher workforce responsible for educating the next generation of citizens.

LeBron’s school isn’t a charter, but it puts kids first—and that’s all that matters | EdExcellence
You’ve probably heard by now that basketball superstar LeBron James opened a school for at-risk kids in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. Called I Promise School (IPS), it’s a joint effort between the I Promise Network, the LeBron James Family Foundation, and Akron Public Schools. The newly renovated building opened its doors on July 30 to 240 students in third and fourth grade, along with forty-three staff members.

ESSA
What Is ESSA’s New School-Spending Transparency Requirement, and How Will It Work? | EdWeek
When it comes to educating a child, the role of money —how much and how it gets spent—has long mystified policymakers and educators. This school year, an often-overlooked provision in the Every Student Succeeds Act will offer some deeper information when states start reporting to the public school-by-school spending.

HIGH SCHOOL GRAD
Career-ready diploma seals show students are ‘ready for life’ | Gainesville Times
With enrollment growing in work-study programs and other curriculum designed to prepare high school students for life beyond the classroom, the Georgia Department of Education has unveiled a series of gold seals to be stamped on the diplomas of graduates who are considered “career-ready.”

It’s hard to manage your credit when you’ve never heard of ‘interest’ | Virginian-Pilot
Kentucky is the 44th most financially literate state, according to a WalletHub analysis based on 15 metrics, including the availability of high school financial literacy classes and the share of adults with rainy day funds. And the state has the eighth-highest personal bankruptcy rate, with 345 bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents. But this year Kentucky launched a two-part initiative to help its residents better live within their means.

DC
A school called Excel failed. Now, D.C. Public Schools is reviving the all-girls campus. | WaPo
Until this spring, Excel had been a charter school. But then it failed. Now, the traditional public school system, having brought Excel into its domain, is gearing up to reopen the school — the only public all-girls school in the District.

DC’s Newest Charter Promises ‘Computer Science for All’ | The Journal
The first computer-science-focused middle school will be opening shortly in Washington, D.C. Digital Pioneers Academy is a tuition-free, open-enrollment public charter school that will kick off with an expected 120 students in a sixth-grade cohort. School officials said DPA would continue adding new sixth-graders over the next three years until a total of 360 students is reached.

In Effort To Rein In Child Care Costs, D.C. Set To Expand Subsidies, Cap What Families Pay | WAMU
A sweeping bill that was quietly approved by the D.C. Council earlier this summer is taking aim at one of the biggest expenses for many families in the city: the sky-high cost of child care.

Democracy Prep charter school says this will be its last year in Southeast D.C. | WaPO
A prominent Southeast Washington charter school with more than 600 students announced Friday that the coming school year will be its last. Leaders of Democracy Prep Congress Heights said in an email to parents the school, which has students in preschool through eighth grade, was unable “to provide Congress Heights scholars the school they deserve.”

RESEARCH
How Does Repeating a Grade Impact Students’ High School Persistence and Behavior? | Rand
Opening Credits: An Introduction to PLA Policies | ECS
Strengthening Reading Instruction Databurst | NCTQ
Aligned Curricula and Implementation of Common Core State Mathematics Standards | Randa
School policies and the success of advantaged and disadvantaged students | Brookings
Embracing and Measuring an Expanded Definition of Student Success | New Schools